Bardon Greener Kitchen 2011

This is definitely another favourite.  As a part of the kitchen renovation it was moved into a brand new spot in the house, into a nice open room with a fantastic view of the greenery outside.  So we bought the 'green' inside with a kitchen made of some seriously environmentally responsible materials.  It has doors of hoop pine eco ply with a recycled cardboard core as well as very low emission chain of custody certified colour-board.  Benches are acrylic solid surface and beautiful recycled Australian hardwood.  So much goodness and looks good too (we think, but we are a little biased).  Just quietly, this kitchen will be gracing the pages of Australian House and Garden soon, which is kinda nice.  Thanks lots to Alex and Liz for being such brilliant clients to work with.

The Gap Greener Kitchen 2011

It was a great pleasure to go back and have a cuppa with my clients in their new 'greener' (and bluer!) kitchen.  We sat at new island bench on some lovely old timber stools and had a chance to admire the recycled timber benches and shelves, the 'rescued' stone bench and the very low emission chain of custody certified colour-board doors.  We decided we had done a pretty good job together and the kitchen had found a very happy home.  Best of all when it was time to head off I was given a muffin to take with me that had just been baked in the new oven.  Thank you Jo and John for the privilege of designing your kitchen and for the muffin, it was yum!

Leichardt Recycled Timber Kitchen 2011

The absolute star of this kitchen are the doors made from recycled blackbutt floorboards, salvaged from an old Sydney church.  It might just be true to say that this kitchen has been blessed with the patina of a previous life.  The timber really does add warmth, character and heart (you did a brilliant job of them Jimmy!).  To keep it in the 'Good Wood' family the recycled timber was partnered with a chain of custody certified veneer and colourboard as complimentary door materials.  Was great to work with you on your renovation Jen, and it was brilliant to hear that the island is a big winner with the family!

West End Recycled Kitchen 2010

This is a new Greener Kitchen made from 70% recycled materials! It has doors fashioned from floorboards salvaged during the renovation of the original turn of the century (the one before last) cottage. And take a look at those beautiful recycled Australian hardwood bench-tops (was hard to say goodbye to them when leaving site). We are pretty proud of this one, and big love to the most fabulous client ever!

Dee Why Little Wonder 2010

This kitchen became the star of a magazine article in Australian Home Beautiful (June 2010) where it was dubbed the 'little wonder'! You would never guess from the sleek and shiny surfaces that more than half of the kitchen is made from recycled materials, like the recycled glass bench-top and cabinet doors with a core of post consumer recycled cardboard. It also has a cool fridge cavity, which is pretty clever we think. A great big thank you to the fabulous clients for their inspiring passion for the environment and to Home Beautiful for highlighting our ability to create a greener kitchen worthy of their pages.

Spring Hill Enviro Cottage 2010

We were most proud and a little chuffed to be chosen as joinery partners to the Spring Hill Enviro Cottage Project. It involved the renovation of an inner city workers cottage as an inspirational state of the art environmentally responsible modern family home.  Doors and panels made from leftover recycled timber floorboards made from a decommissioned local bridge are the star of our kitchen. We also sourced discarded very low emission board material, rejected by others (poor things!) for being scratched in transit as a responsible carcass material. Carcass material, the bones of the kitchen you don't see much, is typically the cheapest, nastiest, most toxic and irresponsible compressed board material going around, but rest assured we wouldn't have any of that in a Greener Kitchen.

For more information on the Spring Hill Enviro Cottage and information on their public tour dates or private tours by appointment contact us or visit www.envirocottage.com.au

Stafford Family Kitchen 2010

This is a beautiful Greener Kitchen for a beautiful green family, designed by our fabulous UK import designer Francine. The client's love of home cooking and baking and involving the children informed the idea of the cut out in the wall with the bench-top (rescued engineered stone) running through and overhanging the other side so the kids have a place to sit, help mum and lick spoons. Being very environmentally conscious the clients were really keen to have a kitchen made from the lowest emission, lowest environmental impact materials to pal up with their energy efficient appliances and way of living. The result is a happy, healthier, more sustainable kitchen for a young family to grow up in.

West End Greener Bathroom 2010

Bathrooms normally say 'male' or 'female' but this one would say 'family'. It was very carefully designed in close collaboration with our client to achieve a tranquil, functional and resource efficient space for the family to use happily for years and years to come. The bathroom is the biggest water user in the home, so of course all of the fittings are highest star. The design achieved an abundance of natural light and cross ventilation, ensuring energy use and indoor pollutants are discouraged. We had a bit of fun designing bespoke storage stools for the space, made from recycled timber with a cute little drawer in them. Recycled timber was also used to create a cantilevered shelf above the basins and a bench in the corner, under the window, for casual storage or contemplations.

Wilston Greener Kitchen 2009

Sustainably grown, locally sourced hoop pine ply and crisp white, what a happy pair they are! Can't beat a natural, neutral palette that will never date. And I do love the little splashback window framing a view and providing natural task lighting. This kitchen, one of my favourites I have to say, was the star of a Channel 10 news story Greener Kitchens found itself the subject of to celebrate our nomination for a Climate Smart Award in 2010. Gave us a chance to catch up with the client, have a spot of morning tea and hear how much she was enjoying her Greener Kitchen. Thanks for your support Kim and for letting your kitchen be on the tellie!

Bardon Greener Bathroom 2009

You can renovate a bathroom in a greener way! Everything in this lovely bathroom renovation was thoughtfully chosen because of its reduced environmental impact. We found Australian made water efficient tapware (to link to a greywater system) and responsibly made tiles. We ensured building materials were recycled or reused as much as we could and found a loo that uses its water twice! But the things we loved the most were the recycled timber privacy screen and wall shelving made from bits of an old spit. It was a joy to work on this project so thank you to our committed clients for feeding and sharing our goals.

Paddington Greener Kitchen 2009

How can you tell this is a Greener Kitchen? You can't, and that's what we love about it. Despite appearances, it is made of materials that are very low emission, including an acrylic two pack paint that releases less than a third of the unhealthy gasses of typical industry standard two pack, making it a much healthier choice for a family home. The stone bench was rescued and he design has implemented techniques to achieve natural task lighting and optimisation of material use.

Newmarket Eco House 2008

This was a Greener Kitchen for a fabulous Eco House. It seemed a natural choice to think about the kitchen the same way as the rest of the home was being thought about. It had lots of good ideas designed into it, like operable windows behind the cooking area for natural lighting and ventilation and a cool fridge cavity. The kitchen was achieved on a modest budget, by not overusing competitively priced greener materials. For instance, who needs wall cabinets when high quality drawers provide the storage without having to stretch. The doors were made of a fabulous very low emission laminated panel that has recently (2010) also been chain of custody certified as being made from responsibly sourced timber, and still at a very competitive price point. You can have a great Greener Kitchen on a budget!

Greener Vanities 2008

Was it Jane Austen who said that vanity and pride are different things? Well not at Greener Kitchens + Bathrooms! We are very proud of the vanities we are designing because they are bespoke (fit their new home perfectly) and made of genius greener materials like chain of custody certified timber veneers that ensure long term forest management strategies are implemented to protect high conservation forests, waterways, wildlife habitat and worker safety. Who knew a vanity could do all that?